


Struggling To Express

by orphan_account



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, Lingerie, Yuri, trapped together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:06:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23278306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: While participating in an extreme sports competition, two best friends, Alex and Marina, are kidnapped by some goons hired by the manager of a rival team! The two are stashed in a car trunk together, where they struggle to escape while also struggling with unrequited passions felt increasingly by Alex as they squirm together in such a tight space...
Kudos: 4





	Struggling To Express

**Author's Note:**

> The following story is based off of characters from my Thrillseekers fictional universe, about a group of young women who compete in extreme sports together, and focuses on two of them in particular: Alex Levesque and Marina Hirano.
> 
> Alex Levesque character bio: https://www.deviantart.com/rysenkari/art/Thrillseekers-OC-Alex-Levesque-807071352
> 
> Marina Hirano character bio: https://www.deviantart.com/rysenkari/art/Thrillseekers-OC-Marina-Hirano-807071944

There was only a half hour left before Alex Levesque and her friends were expected to be ready for the next round of their extreme sports competition, but all the blonde could think about as she stood in the locker room wearing nothing but a black sports bra and a pair of form-fitting black panties was the beautiful young woman standing nearby.

That beautiful young woman was Marina Hirano, Alex's teammate and best friend for the past six years. Marina hadn't yet noticed that Alex was staring at her, as she stood in front of a locker wearing a lacy dark blue bra and matching panties that barely covered her most intimate area and covered practically none of her buttocks.

“So why no sports bra today?” Alex asked, a smirk on her face as she leaned against one of the lockers. Marina, who'd been looking for a pair of jeans to wear for the upcoming skateboarding event, stopped cold and turned to glare at Alex.

“Because this feels good,” Marina said, sounding only mildly annoyed that her friend had been staring at her.

“Sure you don't need a little more support?”

“I get plenty of support from my teammates,” said Marina, smirking back at her friend.

“That's not-”

“I know.”

In the six years that the two girls had known each other, Alex and Marina had been a lot of things. Bitter enemies, fierce rivals, teammates... and yes, despite it all, they were best friends. While all of their friends had a burning competitive spirit, Alex and Marina were unique amongst them in their zeal to be the best they could possibly be. Even though Alex was normally fairly lazy, she found herself driven to achieve greatness by being around Marina, motivated by the idea of beating her in competition. And even though Marina was a naturally hard worker who tirelessly pushed herself, it was Alex who reminded her to keep things in perspective and that she didn't have to be perfect all the time.

“And you don't mind bouncing around everywhere when you're jumping off ramps?” asked Alex, walking over to Marina and briefly glancing down at her fairly ample chest before looking back up into her eyes.

“I don't bounce that much,” replied Marina. “Besides, _you_ don't seem to mind.”

Alex started to reply, but could barely form a single syllable as she started to blush and bite her lip. Marina raised an eyebrow, but already knew full well what her friend was thinking.

“I just... want you to be comfortable out there,” said Alex. “And, you know, not have any wind resistance messing up your jumps.”

“I'll be just fine,” replied Marina, rolling her eyes. “I'm not just ready to beat the other teams, I'm ready to beat _you_.”

“No chance!” said Alex with a laugh. “I almost beat you at surfing earlier too!”

“Yeah, almost.”

“Well, I just hope you don't get so caught up in beating me that it messes us up during the next round,” said Alex. “We're in the lead, but just barely.”

“The Windrunners are good,” Marina replied in a much more serious tone as she opened up her locker and started fishing through it for her clothes again. “We'll all need to pull our weight out there. I'm not worried about me, and I guess you'll do fine, but Vivian's still nursing that sore leg and Stacy still looks really nervous.”

“Don't worry about Stacy,” said Alex.

“I can't help but worry about Stacy. Look, I love her too, but we both know she's the worst skater on the team. No offense, but she is.”

Alex sighed. She hated when Marina talked badly about Stacy's skills, but it was the unfortunate truth. Of all the Thrillseekers, Stacy was still the weakest link in just about any sport, though the other girls were doing their best to try and bring her up to speed. Marina was about to pick up her jeans, but she could tell from the tone of Alex's voice that her friend was starting to get worried, and she wanted to make sure the air was clear between them before they went out to compete.

“I won't say anything to her,” said Marina. “Just give her a pep talk, she'll do fine. She's improved a lot, you and I both know that. I won't ever be cruel to her like I was when we first met. I promise.”

“I know,” Alex replied, managing a smile. “You guys are tight now, I know that. It's okay, you're right, it's just sometimes you can be....”

“A bitch?”

Alex's expression was one of complete shock, then one of complete amusement, before she immediately snorted and started to laugh. Marina smirked and began giggling to herself as well, and the two girls shared a laugh together, both of them still in their underwear inside the locker room. As they laughed together, Alex took one more chance to admire her best friend's gorgeous body, and remembered how much she loved laughing with her like this.

_You're not a bitch at all,_ thought Alex, blushing with admiration.  _You drive me crazy sometimes, but not just in a bad way..._

“What's so funny?” came a harsh voice from the other end of the locker room. Alex and Marina looked over to see two tall, bulky men walking toward them, and immediately took defensive stances.

“What the hell are you doing in here?” Marina shouted over at them. “You're not in the competition!”

“Both of you need to come with us,” one of the men said, as the other set a large, burlap sack down on one of the benches nearby.

“Why?” asked Alex defiantly, trying not to show any amount of fear despite the sudden intrusion.

“Because,” the man with the sack said, before pulling out a gun and pointing it at Alex. “Turn around.”

“Like hell I will!” shouted Alex, raising her fists.

“Alex, what are you doing?” Marina shouted, looking over at her.

“The gun's loaded,” said the man, walking toward Alex with his companion. “And I'd advise you to keep your voices down, we wouldn't want anyone else getting involved in this.”

“Good, so when I kick you assholes in the balls and take it from you, I'll be able to shoot you if either one of you pisses me off!” Alex threatened, clenching her fists even tighter as Marina looked on fearfully.

_Alex, what the fuck are you thinking? I know I want to do the same thing, but you're going to get both of us killed!_

Marina's mind was racing, she didn't know whether to try running away, to try screaming, or to join Alex in fighting back. All she knew was that there was a loaded gun pointed at her best friend, and she couldn't let Alex do something stupid and get herself killed, even if it meant complying with these criminals' demands... at least for the moment.

“You really want to get shot?” asked the other man, reaching into the burlap sack for something else as his companion kept his gun trained on Alex.

“Like you're really going to shoot us. This locker room's in the middle of a big huge building full of people, you shoot and lots of them are going to hear it!”

_Good point,_ thought Marina, looking over at Alex and for a moment considering joining her in her stand against these criminals.  _The moment he fires that gun, a dozen people are going to come rushing into this room._

“We're professionals, we've planned for that possibility,” said the man holding the gun, leveling it at Alex's head as the two stood just a few feet apart. “But is it really worth betting your life that we're scared of getting caught? Think about what you're doing.”

Marina could see the other criminal pulling a roll of duct tape from the sack.

_They plan to tie us up. Once that happens, we're at their mercy. This might be our last chance to fight back._

Marina looked over at Alex, then at the criminals and the gun. She could see Alex starting to sweat and shake. Her own heart was racing, she was sure that Alex's was too.

“How do we know you won't kill us later?” Marina asked.

“You don't,” said the man. “But we'll kill you right now if you don't do what we say.”

“Is it worth betting our lives that you won't kill us later?” asked Alex, her once angry voice starting to tremble.

“I'd say it is,” said the man holding the tape, walking over to stand next to his companion. “So, what's it gonna be?”

“Alex... they're both wearing masks,” said Marina, gesturing to the white face coverings both of their would-be captors were wearing on their heads. “They don't have any reason to shoot us... and we don't want to give them one. I hate to say it but we have to do what they say. Alex... please.”

Alex hated to even look away from the man pointing the gun, for fear he might shoot her or immediately jump on her, but she looked back at Marina with a mix of anger and fear on her face, and Marina nodded, her face wearing a similar expression.

“I know,” she mouthed to her friend. “It's going to be okay.”

Alex unclenched her fists and dropped her arms to her sides in a gesture of surrender. She and Marina both turned toward the men with looks of anger on their faces. The man holding the gun chuckled, while the other one walked over with the duct tape and tore off a strip.

“So you don't get any ideas about screaming,” he said, before sealing Alex's lips shut with the tape, making sure to press it down firmly and smoothly. Alex glared fiercely at him, her lips visible as a frown under the tightly sealed strip. Then, the man walked over to Marina and tore off another strip of tape. “Thanks for calming your friend down.”

“Fuck you,” said Marina, before her own lips were sealed up as well. She looked over at Alex again, who was still frowning and glaring. _See? I hate this as much as you do._

_I hope you're right,_ thought Alex, as the man now took her arms and put them behind her back, one on top of the other.  _Because we just lost our only way out of this._

The man began wrapping the tape around Alex's arms tightly, binding them together with dozens of loops. The tape was uncomfortable and constricting, but as Alex flexed her hands and fists as she was bound, she could tell that her circulation wasn't being cut off in a major way. These men knew what they were doing, and while they were willing to harm their two captives if they didn't get what they wanted, hurting them, at least immediately, didn't seem to be their goal... though that didn't make Alex feel any better.

More tape was being wrapped around Alex's chest and midsection, pinning her arms down to her back. Meanwhile, the other man, the one holding the gun, was keeping it trained on Marina, who watched in forced silence as Alex was bound. Marina looked the man holding the gun on her directly in the eyes, wanting to let him know that she wasn't intimidated and also wanting him to get a good look at her if he actually did have plans to do anything worse than tying her up.

_If you didn't have that gun, this would be going a lot differently right now,_ thought Marina. She thought about flipping her captors the bird, but didn't want to do anything else that might provoke them, especially now that Alex's arms were completely tied. Instead of binding Alex's legs, the man who'd just taped her up walked over to Marina and began binding her in similar fashion: arms behind the back, one on top of the other, and tape around her arms and chest, above and below her breasts.

_At least these assholes are kind enough not to tape down our tits_ , thought Alex, knowing that would hurt Marina a lot more than it would her, thanks to the two cup sizes her friend had on her.  _Or they're planning to take our bras off for a better look... dammit, they'd better not. Especially not to Marina._

The thought that these men might want to do something... sexual with them was a thought that crossed both Alex and Marina's minds, and it had been one of Alex's primary motivators in initially resisting them. If they wanted to do it at this point, there would be nothing stopping them, and as Marina was being taped up, Alex shot her another look, her eyes darting back and forth from Marina's chest to her crotch. Marina blushed, and for the briefest of moments thought Alex might be eyeing her up... but the worry on her face quickly told her otherwise.

_They're not taping our legs up, which might be a bad sign..._ thought Marina, showing more fear than anger at the thought of it.  _Then again, they might be planning to walk us somewhere... but what if they really do want to have their way with us? Dammit, I know, I was thinking that too...! What have I done, what if that's what they want from us? If so, then Alex was right and I've made a terrible mistake..._

Marina looked back at Alex, and nodded.

_Alex, if they try ANYTHING like that, we're fighting. Tape or not, gun or not, I'm not letting them rape you. I'd rather die. No way I'm letting that happen._

Alex nodded back... even though Marina couldn't say it, she knew what her friend was thinking. If this was about a sexual assault, the two girls wouldn't be leaving that locker room.

_I will let them put a bullet in my head before I ever let that happen to any of my friends,_ thought Alex, getting ready to fight again as the man taping up Marina's arms finished and tore the tape off the roll.

“All right you two, let's go,” he said, putting the tape back in his sack and picking it up as his partner kept the gun trained on Alex and Marina. “We're going out to the parking lot.”

The two looked at each other. Were they going to fight back or try to run for it? So far, their captors hadn't made any attempts to try anything of a sexual nature. They hadn't hurt the girls at all, and had been as gentle as they could have possibly been while taping them up. With reluctant sighs, and angry glares, Alex and Marina nodded compliantly, and the men marched them out of the locker room. There was no one in the hallway... and there wasn't going to be.

“Don't try to scream or signal anyone,” said the man holding the sack. “We've made sure we won't be bothered.”

_The competition's in fifteen minutes..._ thought Alex, who could see that Marina was thinking the same thing.  _Wait a minute, is that what this is about?_

The two girls had plenty of time to ponder their situation as they continued to be escorted down a secluded back stairway that led down to an emergency exit. There was still no sign of anyone, not even Stacy or Elissa or any of their other friends.

_These guys really are professionals,_ thought Marina.  _Normally these halls are packed with people. And wait... isn't that an emergency exit down there?_

The girls were nervous as they were led to the stairs. With their arms bound tightly behind them, they'd have trouble balancing as they walked down. Neither of the girls was scared of heights, after all, they both regularly jumped out of airplanes and skated off ramps that were five stories high, much taller than a single flight of stairs... but the feeling of their bare feet against the cold, hard floor, combined with their lack of balance and the steepness of the stairs did give them both a bit of vertigo as they were marched down. If either of them fell, however, their captors, one of whom was in front of them and one of whom was behind them, would make sure they'd be all right, as if that was anything but cold comfort at this point.

The emergency door was pushed open, but no alarm sounded. It had been disabled, and the two girls were uneventfully marched through the open door into the private parking lot reserved for VIPs. This was where the event's celebrity participants and spectators parked, as well as the managers of the various teams, most of whom were millionaires and whose expensive vehicles lined the rows of the small parking lot. One of those expensive vehicles was a black Bentley, which Alex and Marina were now being led towards.

The two were made to stand in front of the trunk of the car, which was then popped open. They looked at the small space before them, then exchanged a silent look.

_We're going in that trunk,_ thought Marina, observing that it barely had enough room for one of them to lay comfortably down inside, let alone both of them.  _And then what? Are they going to drive away with us? Are we going to be sold to someone?_

Alex was having similar worried thoughts, and was breathing even faster than Marina was, her eyes wide with fear for just about the first time since their ordeal had begun. The two girls tried to give each other a reassuring look, but their eyes could only communicate their concern as they worried about everything that might happen to them. They could feel a slight cool breeze against their bodies, and looked up to see the large canopy covering the VIP lot. At the very least, the sun wasn't beating directly down on them.

“All right, here's what's gonna happen,” said the man holding the gun, who finally stopped pointing it at the girls and put it in his ankle holster. “Our boss has made a very big bet on your team losing, and since you two are the best on your team, he wants you out of the way. You'll be spending the rest of the competition in that trunk. Once it's over, we'll send for someone to get you out. As long as you behave yourselves in there, you're both gonna be just fine.”

“Now in you go,” said the other man, gesturing for the two girls to start climbing in. Alex and Marina looked at each other again, then at the two kidnappers, glaring harshly. “Don't give me that look. We already told you, you'll be fine. And it ain't like you haven't lost a competition before, right?”

The idea of losing a competition, especially one as big as this one, was definitely a bummer, but it was about the furthest thing from either girl's mind as they were both made to climb into that small car trunk together. They looked at each other again, trying to get comfortable inside the trunk as their captors looked down at them.

“Don't go anywhere.”

As the two girls took one last look at each other, they thought they could hear their captors laughing at the bad joke. Then the trunk was closed and locked, leaving Alex and Marina trapped in complete darkness.

_Well, this is just great,_ thought Marina.

_Dammit!_ thought Alex.

It was a tight fit. The girls were unable to sit completely upright, but had enough space to lean against the sides of the trunk if they both sat as far apart as they could. However, the concept of legroom inside the trunk was a fantasy. Alex and Marina could both feel their legs rubbing together, with neither of them able to lay down completely flat, forced to bend and splay their legs at awkward ankles just to avoid pushing their chests together. It was cramped, it was dark, and it was stuffy, and it wasn't about to get any better. Neither of them were claustrophobic, but being tied up inside such a dark and confined space was a shock to both girl's systems, and they could hear each other breathing heavily and whimpering slightly inside the confined quarters.

The two young women were close friends... best friends, and almost immediately, their mutual protective instincts for the other kicked in. They started to try and “find” one another inside the trunk, started shouting muffled versions of “are you okay?” and “it's going to be okay”, and “I'm here”, but the tape prevented anything from quiet whimpers from coming out, adding to the discomfort and awkwardness of the situation. The girls tried to feel around for each other, pushing their hands against the floor or sides of the trunk, trying to move their legs around, but even though they were constantly pushing against one another, neither could get to anything close to a “comforting” or “comfortable” position, and in the first few minutes, they both had to settle for whatever muffled words of reassurance they could manage to communicate toward one another.

After a few minutes had passed, Marina got the idea that maybe they should be working on a way to get out of the trunk, or to somehow alert for help. The silence of their awkward confinement was suddenly shattered by Marina screaming at the top of her lungs, and Alex soon joined in the cacophony.

_HELP US!_ screamed Marina, while slamming her bare foot into the trunk lid as hard as she could.  _GET US OUT OF HERE! HELP!_

Marina's screams for help sounded mostly like 'hmmmm mmmm', but it was loud enough to fill the trunk with the sound of her voice, and at least some of the sound had to have made it out of the trunk and into the parking lot, where she was sure that someone was listening.

_GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE!_ Alex cried along with Marina, pushing her bare back and panty-clad rump into the trunk lid with as much force as she could muster. 

The two girls were now screaming together, filling the trunk with the sounds of their muffled screams and the bangs of their bodies against the trunk lid. As they struggled to get free, their mostly bare flesh started rubbing together, but in those moments, neither girl cared about just how intimate they were becoming, and these escape efforts continued almost totally unabated, ceasing only when one girl was temporarily out of breath, at which time the continued sounds of one girl screaming and smacking her body against the trunk lid were accompanied by the loud sounds of air passing in and out of the nostrils of the other.

At one point, Alex's hands found what she thought was the emergency release cable. She yanked it as hard as she could, but nothing happened. She alerted Marina, and started muffling 'emergency release' to her as loud as she could. It took Marina a few moments to understand, but once she did, and once she and Alex were able to shift their bodies around enough, she too was able to give the release cable a try.

_I'm pulling as hard as I can!_ thought Marina, while also briefly cursing herself for not thinking of the emergency release before Alex had.  _It's not working! I wonder if it really is the emergency release?_

Marina remembered back to when Vivian had taught her some things about cars, and the emergency release cable in the trunk was one of those things (along with how to change a tire and how to top off the oil, which Vivian made surprisingly simpler than Marina thought they'd be). She was confident that she had the right cable, but no matter how much she tugged, it wasn't going to open the trunk. Finally, she gave up on it and let out a shriek of frustration.

_It doesn't work, those assholes thought of everything!_ Marina muffled out loud, prompting a quizzical reply from Alex, to which Marina screamed 'it doesn't work!' through her gag again. Alex said 'hmm?' a second time, prompting Marina to let out another shriek of frustration and bang herself against the trunk lid repeatedly.  _GET US OUT OF THIS TRUNK!!!_

The girls' efforts to escape by force and call for help continued in earnest, with neither Alex nor Marina caring anything for resting. They kept at it, hoping against hope that one of their many, many attempts to smash their way out of the trunk with their bodies would succeed, hoping that one of their many muffled screams would be heard by a passing bystander. They slammed themselves against the trunk until they were sore, tired, and bruised, they screamed until their throats hurt, but nothing happened, no one came, all they managed to do was make themselves more frustrated, angry, and desperate.

It was a full hour before both of them needed to catch their breath at the same time. As their aching bodies slumped to the floor of the trunk, they could finally take some time to appreciate their situation, a situation growing more dire by the moment.

It wasn't an especially hot day in Southern California, and the shade that the car was getting helped, but the sunlight still made the trunk hotter, and the girls' combined body heat was also contributing. It wasn't getting dangerous hot inside the trunk, thankfully, but it was annoyingly warm, and that, combined with the fact that they'd spent most of the past hour struggling and kicking, had gotten both Alex and Marina extremely sweaty. So sweaty, in fact, that both of them were soaked as if they'd stood in the pouring rain. They weren't sweaty enough to slip out of their bonds (and both of them had tried), but they were sweating more than they ever had in their lives, save for perhaps the final round of a heated competition.

The girls were also cramped, and now that they weren't trying to struggle, they were able to sense just how cramped they were. Alex was leaned up against one of the sides of the trunk, while Marina was positioned against a corner, and despite all that, their legs were forced into uncomfortable positions, with one of Alex's feet pressed right up against Marina's face. Marina made a groan of disgust, a quiet, involuntary groan, and Alex moved her foot away almost instinctively, muffling “sorry” from under her gag.

_It's okay,_ Marina replied, almost despite herself. She sighed, and gathered her thoughts, not trying to vocalize them.  _Your feet stink, it's not your fault. We've been struggling and sweating inside this trunk for an hour. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to try to struggle anymore._

Marina hated to give up, but she barely had the energy to keep struggling, and just wanted to rest, even if it meant 'surrendering' to their captors. She'd already given up on the idea of getting back to her team, and they'd probably already lost by now anyway.

_I'm sorry, guys. I know it's not our fault, but I'm still sorry._

Meanwhile, Alex was still trying to get her legs into a comfortable position. One of them was trapped under Marina's butt, while the other one was trying to avoid contact with Marina's head. She didn't want to make things any more unpleasant for her friend, even if that meant making things more unpleasant for herself.

She too was upset about getting captured and losing the competition for her team, but she was more worried about their friends getting into trouble looking for them.

_What if those guys are still around? What if one of our friends gets too close? What if Stacy...?_

Alex was worried for all of her friends, but especially Stacy. Of all the Thrillseekers, Stacy was the one that Alex cared about the most... even more than Marina. The two girls were best friends... maybe more. Maybe in Alex's dreams they were more, anyway... she'd dreamed about Marina like that too, but she already knew Marina didn't like girls, which was making things even more awkward.

_What if I rub too much with Marina and she thinks I'm trying to come onto her? No... no, she can't blame me for what happened! Right?_

The girls' eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and Alex could somewhat make out Marina's face, though she couldn't quite tell what her friend's expression was saying.

_Marina, are you okay?_ Alex asked, muffled by the tape but somewhat intelligible. Marina looked over and narrowed her eyes, as if thinking for a moment... then nodded, and gave an affirmative reply.

“Mmhmm,” said Marina, before letting out a groan and trying to reposition one of her own legs which was starting to fall asleep.

_Oh...! I'll try to move, Marina, don't worry..._ Alex shifted her body as much as she could so that she wasn't pinning one of her friend's legs against the wall of the trunk. The two girls both grunted, shifting themselves around and repositioning, but this just resulted in Marina's own foot pressing up against her face. “Mmmm!”

Marina's eyes widened a bit, but Alex's started cry wasn't accompanied by any other noises, and indeed, Alex seemed somewhat relaxed, even with Marina's foot pressed right up against her nose.

_Her foot is so sweaty, but... I can't even smell anything_ , thought Alex, taking a deep breath through her nose just to make sure.  _Nothing! ...maybe a little bit of body soap! Are you kidding me? She's been sweating just as much as me, we've been doing competitions all day... and she doesn't smell at all?_

_Alex, what are you doing?_ muffled Marina, lowering her foot from her friend's face with some effort.

_Your foot doesn't stink!_ shouted Alex, her eyes narrowed.

_What?_

Alex groaned, realizing Marina probably couldn't understand her. She raised her own foot, pressing it to Marina's face for a moment, then lowered her foot and positioned her head next to Marina's foot, rubbing her nose against it and keeping it there as long as Marina would let her, hoping to communicate what she was trying to say.

“Hmm...?” muffled Marina, trying to move her foot only for Alex's to try and follow it with her face. _Oh come on, are you really trying to play footsie with me in here? You're not even into feet, are you?_

_You smell good!_ shouted Alex repeatedly, hoping Marina would eventually understand her. Finally, Marina did, but rather than explain herself, gave Alex the best 'well of course I smell good, I take a shower every day and use tons of deodorant, duh' look she possibly could. Alex responded with a sheepish look of her own, and muffled 'sorry' through her gag, keeping her full thought to herself.  _I'm sorry I don't._

Marina sighed again, hearing the guilt in Alex's latest sounds. She decided not to comfort her friend, at least for the moment, as her legs were starting to get sore again. Instead, she tried to shift herself again so that both of them could be comfortable. It worked, sort of, only for Alex to get her leg pinned at an awkward angle. Alex shifted around in response, and eventually got comfortable again, only for Marina to find part of her own body pinned awkwardly.

_This isn't working, is it?_ Alex muffled, after Marina's latest attempt to shift around left both of them with their one of their legs pinned uncomfortably beneath part of the other one's body.

_Let's try again,_ Marina replied.

And so this dance continued, almost for as long as the two girls had tried to use force to get themselves out of the trunk. It gave them a chance to rest, as they weren't exerting quite as much energy on this endeavor as they had been on escaping. At the same time, they tried to make conversation, which was awkward at best and impossible at worst. The tapegags that had been plastered over both girls' mouths were incredibly sticky, and even with sweat-covered faces, not a single corner of the tape had come loose. Neither of them could part their lips even a fraction of an inch to use their tongues to get the tape off, and Marina suspected that something stronger than regular duct tape had been used to gag them, as it was clinging so tightly to their lips that both of them could see the outlines of the other girl's mouth even in the darkness of the trunk. After about an hour or so of trying to converse, and after their eyes had adjusted even more to the darkness, they could almost sort of understand what each other was saying, as long as they spoke slowly and in short bursts.

All the while, they kept shifting their bodies, moving their legs, trying to get comfortable. While they were both trying to get comfortable for themselves, they were putting up more of an effort to help each other, and neither was willing to be completely comfortable at the other's expense. From time to time, one of them would get into a good position and the other would muffle 'I'm fine', but that wasn't an acceptable arrangement, and so the shifting of positions continued well into the girls' third hour of captivity. Of course, time meant nothing inside the trunk, and so to both of them, it seemed like even more time had passed than it already had.

For Alex, the time had passed a bit more quickly. Her fear had almost completely subsided, and though it was hot and stuffy and cramped inside the trunk, she'd almost gotten comfortable... not physically, but emotionally, with the situation she and Marina were in. Her attraction to Marina, her undeniable, unrequited attraction, had made the situation more pleasant than it had any right to be. The two of them nearly naked and their fit bodies had been rubbing together for two hours, priming Alex's intense physical feelings despite the awkwardness of what both of them were going through. Even though Alex hated herself for it, she couldn't help the way she felt, and every minute inside that trunk rubbing against Marina and listening to her gagged muffles and moans was getting Alex hotter and hotter.

For Marina, it had been an ordeal. She loved Alex, but wasn't  _in love_ with Alex, and though she certainly wasn't repulsed by the sensation of rubbing her nude body against that of her best friend, she found herself growing increasingly frustrated with their lack of progress in getting free and the seeming hopelessness of the situation. She wasn't angry with Alex, she was mostly angry with herself, but her expression made it seem like she was angry with everything, and her groans and grunts were conveying her frustration more and more. 

The two were continuing to shift around inside the trunk, and their legs had found some measure of equilibrium, pushing more and more freely around, shifting against and under one another, with both girls realizing that they could shift themselves in such a way that each could rest one leg under the other girl's body comfortably as long as the other girl didn't put all her weight down. This arrangement lasted for less than a minute before both of them simultaneously realized something.

Alex's crotch and Marina's crotch, covered only by a thin layer of fabric on each of them, were pressed tightly together. The two girls were essentially scissoring. A second after realizing this, their eyes met. They both froze, not making a sound, not doing anything but looking right into each other's eyes. They could feel each other's heat, emanating from the most intimate parts of their bodies. Their panties were soaked with sweat, which only made the layer of fabric separating their skin feel even thinner, pressing against them like second skins that served only to seal their sexes against the outside world. Alex's eyes were wide with a mix of fear and embarrassment, and her face was crimson. Marina's blush only extended to her cheeks, but her eyes were fierce, her expression a mix of frustration and rage.

Alex wanted to be somewhere else.

_Marina, I'm so sorry._

The only sound inside the trunk was the sound of air passing through the girls' nostrils, air thick with Alex and Marina's sweat and body heat. Alex wanted to moan, but bit her tongue under her gag to stifle even the hint of one, while Marina didn't know what sound she wanted to make.

Any attempt by either girl to extricate themselves from this position would cause them to grind together, a fact both of them were now painfully aware of. Marina was the first of the two to end the staring contest, her eyes darting away from Alex's and trying to look anywhere but at her. Alex wanted to look away, but couldn't risk averting her glance from Marina's face, not wanting it to focus on any part of her body... not her sleek shoulders, not her heaving chest, not her flat stomach shimmering with sweatdrops, and especially not her crotch covered only in those silky blue panties.

Alex's attempt not to look at Marina's body only made her think about Marina's body, and thinking about it made her want to moan even more. Her fists clenched, her toes curled, she tried desperately to think about anything else...!

“Mmm.... fmmck...” Alex moaned quietly, unable to keep the sound from coming out. She immediately bit her tongue again, and let out a quiet squeak. Marina looked back up into Alex's eyes and could see the regret on her friend's face as Alex scrambled to muffle an explanation through her gag. _Marina, I'm sorry, I-_

_Don't._ Marina muffled through her gag, glaring hard at her friend.  _Just don't talk._

Marina briefly pondered the absurdity of telling someone with duct tape over their mouth not to talk, a thought that gave her a brief respite from her own racing mind, as she wondered how best to handle this situation. She was furious, but not with Alex, not at all with Alex, and she was trying to communicate that, but couldn't wipe the glare from her face.

_Alex, I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the assholes who put us in here and I'm mad at myself for not doing more to stop it!_ Marina thought as she tried to relax and catch her breath, but it was extremely difficult considering the circumstances. She couldn't breathe without taking in Alex's scent, which was becoming thicker and thicker with the girl's involuntary affection. She couldn't move without teasing Alex, and she knew her friend was trying her best not to be teased. She couldn't talk, at least intelligibly, because of the tape covering her mouth, but what would she say if she could? _I'm sorry I told you not to kick those guys in the balls and take their guns? I'm sorry we might get killed because of it? I'm sorry I'm being such a bitch right now?_

Marina's thoughts were broken up by another moan from Alex, louder this time, and she could feel more heat coming from her friend's crotch. She knew Alex was trying to hold it back, but how much was it hurting her to do so?

_Marina..._ Alex wanted to scream an apology to her every time she let out a moan. She bit her tongue hard to try and stifle the next one. She squinted her eyes tightly shut, she curled her toes, she tried to think of anything that might possibly turn her off. Nothing was working. She tried to hold her breath, tried to look away... she looked back, and could see that Marina's glare had started to soften into a look of concern. _Marina, I can't help myself, this feels so good right now...!_

Then, Alex finally took a breath. In that moment, in that perfect moment in which the air shifted inside the trunk in just the right way, a scent wafted into Alex's nostrils that consisted of a mix of her own arousal, her own natural scent mixed with Marina's, and the faintest hint of Marina's jasmine scented body spray. The sensation pushed Alex right to the edge, and she let out her loudest moan yet, screaming an obscenity, curling her toes, and crying out as a mixture of heat and electricity went through her legs. She was right on the verge, and felt the dam about to burst. She gave a look of pure apology to Marina, looking almost like a harrowed damsel in distress, her eyes wide, thinking that any moment her best friend would start hating her.

And Marina... Marina just sighed and rolled her eyes.

_Don't fight it,_ Marina tried to communicate across the trunk with her eyes. _Alex, I know this is turning you on._

And as Marina closed her eyes and for the briefest moment allowed herself to gather her own bearings, she realized that Alex wasn't the only one inside the trunk who was feeling aroused. It was a strange and surprising situation, and not one that Marina had ever gotten from a woman, save for herself in her own private moments. She knew, for a fact, that she wasn't attracted to girls. She knew because every sexual fantasy she'd ever had, every sexual experience, every time she'd ever been turned on had been by a man.

_Well... not every fantasy,_ thought Marina to herself, remembering brief moments when she'd fantasized about her friends, even if she'd never felt any kind of attraction to them. 

And yet... feeling her friend's crotch pressed firmly against hers, feeling and smelling her body heat, listening to her moans, and knowing that nothing that ever happened inside this trunk would ever be revealed to anyone else... it was enough to allow Marina to feel, at least in some small way, turned on at this moment.

And that was okay.

_If you can't help it, don't torture yourself for my sake. I'm... actually really flattered. I've told you this before. We're tied up in a trunk together, those guys could come back and shoot us at any moment. I'm not going to hold anything against you. I wish I could tell you, but this fucking tape on my mouth..._

Marina could see and sense that Alex was still holding back, still desperately trying not to come. She could hear the anguish in Alex's groaning and could see it on her face. She had to try something else.

She screamed, at the top of her lungs.

_ALEX, IT'S OKAY!_

Alex's eyes widened. She blinked.

_Are you sure?_ Alex muffled through the tape, her eyes meeting Marina's and searching for her sincere consent, even if she already knew Marina would never hold any of this against her.

Marina nodded.

_It's fine. Do what you have to do._

With Marina's look of complete understanding and acceptance giving Alex the permission she needed, Alex finally let herself relax, and started to come. She moaned loudly, and pressed herself harder against Marina, who leaned back against the wall of the trunk, closed her eyes, and let whatever was going to happen happen. Alex moaned again and again, her cries of pleasure filling the trunk as her panties slowly dampened with something thicker than sweat, while Marina let out a brief and quiet moan of her own, flattered that she had such an effect on her best friend and aroused, though to a much lesser extent than her friend, by the unfamiliar sensation.

_She's... she's really letting it go, isn't she?_

Uninhibited by any further thoughts that Marina might be upset with her, Alex grinded and rubbed her crotch against Marina's as much as she could. She didn't expect Marina to reciprocate, and was ready to stop the moment her friend told her to, but Marina just looked on and allowed Alex to continue. Alex screamed and swore and cried out, as fluid slowly trickled out of her, coating the inside of her panties and continuing to fill the trunk with a thick musk that the two inhaled with every breath.

_God... I can't stop... she's so beautiful... this feels so good... I just hope she's not uncomfortable. I know she says it's okay, but..._

As Alex was slowly allowing guilty thoughts to trickle into her mind, they were interrupted by a quiet moan from Marina, who had closed her eyes to take it all in. Alex looked over at her, and Marina's eyes opened, followed immediately by a blush and a look of slight sheepishness.

_It's okay,_ Alex muffled quickly to her.

_I know,_ Marina replied. She still looked somewhat sheepish, almost surprised that she was finding pleasure in the situation, as little as it was. Her thoughts were jumbled up... she'd never been strongly attracted to Alex, but maybe she'd been just a little bit? Or maybe it was just the strength of her friendship? She knew she wasn't sensing an overwhelming urge to come, but the more she dwelled on it, the more she felt herself stirring, even slightly.  _I mean... I don't know what I'm feeling right now._

Even if her lips weren't sealed up, Marina wouldn't be able to convey in words what she felt. She wasn't turned on, but she wasn't turned off, either. She didn't think Alex was hot, but she thought she was attractive... but was she herself attracted to her?

At the same time that Marina was trying to figure out what she was feeling, Alex could feel herself winding down. Her chest was heaving and her breath was quickening, and she still felt turned on, but was no longer actively coming. She was smiling under the tape, and felt satisfied, but was still worried about Marina. She was comfortable, but nervous. Excited, but scared. She wanted to speak, but like Marina, she couldn't think of anything to say.

_Marina... thank you,_ Alex muffled, hoping the tape wouldn't distort her words. Marina looked over at Alex, nodded, and then moaned again, pressing her head against the wall of the trunk, closing her eyes, and catching her breath.

_Thank you,_ Marina eventually replied, looking sincerely into Alex's eyes and continuing to speak.  _Alex, I... I'm completely okay with how you feel about me._

Alex didn't understand everything Marina had just said, but she understood enough to be incredibly grateful, and Marina could see a tear coming down her friend's face, sliding down over her taped, smiling lips.

For a few minutes, the two girls sat mostly in silence. Their crotches were still pressed together, Alex's panties soaked with sweat and fluids, while Marina's were mostly damp and only slightly sticky, but neither girl cared, not even Marina. They sat and caught their breath inside the hot and stuffy trunk, the air still thick and fragrant, but they'd grown accustomed to that to some degree. They were too tired to mount another escape attempt, and for the moment, they didn't care about escaping, knowing that as long as they had each other, everything would be okay.

It was Marina who decided that they couldn't stay in this position forever, and started to shift herself around, starting with her legs and then the rest of her body. Alex tried to say something once she realized what her friend was doing.

_Trust me_ , muffled Marina, and Alex immediately stopped trying to move, shifting only when Marina gestured for her to do so. Marina continued to reposition herself, and once Alex realized what she was trying to do, she moved at a much quicker pace, allowing Marina to follow suit. Marina was attempting to position herself so that she and Alex would be laying down next to one another, rather than laying on opposite ends of the trunk from one another. It would mean less legroom, but their faces would be closer and they might be able to understand each other better, which is exactly what Marina wanted.

It took a few more minutes, but Marina and Alex finally achieved the desired position. The two were leaning up against the same side of the trunk, facing one another, while their legs were bent slightly and tangled up at the other end. In order for them to achieve comfort in this position, they'd have to tangled their legs rather intimately, with one leg crossed over the other and their crotches pressed together front to front, but neither of them minded at this point, and Alex was starting to get aroused again, while Marina was merely comfortable with the new arrangement.

Their faces were only inches apart now, and Alex had to resist the urge to lean over and kiss Marina, but satisfied as she was with how their legs were positioned, she was able to avoid the kiss at least for the moment... not that Marina would have been too angry with her if she hadn't.

_You okay?_ asked Marina. Alex nodded in reply.

_You?_ Alex said, and Marina nodded in kind.  _Good._

The girls had been inside the trunk for at least three hours by this point. The sun was starting to set, and the air was starting to cool, but the trunk remained hot and sticky, the air still thick with their scent, a fact that was emphasized every time one of them took a breath through their noses.

_Sorry I stink,_ said Alex, wrinkling her nose and blushing.

_You can't help it,_ Marina replied with a smirk.  _At least I don't have to sniff your feet anymore._

Marina's eyes briefly glanced toward Alex's feet at the other end of the trunk, and Alex put on a look of mock indignity.

_So that's why you wanted to turn around!_

Marina nodded, and Alex playfully bumped against her, which was immediately followed by both girls giggling despite their situation.

_Sorry I couldn't get us out of here..._ said Marina, shifting her shoulders and wrists inside the tape. Despite three hours of sweating and squirming, none of her bonds had budged, and she let out another frustrated sigh. She knew she shouldn't have felt bad about the two of them getting caught like this, but despite both of them being in the exact same situation, she felt somehow responsible, as if the guilt from all the times she'd previously treated Alex and her friends badly was now seeping into her mind yet again. Despite being every bit as tough and fierce and determined as Alex, she'd come to internalize Alex as the strong one and herself, at least in her more vulnerable moments, as the weak one... which she imagined is why she continued to lash out sometimes.  _You were right._

Alex shook her head. She didn't bother trying to explain to Marina why she shouldn't feel guilty about this, or why it wasn't her fault... even without the tape, she knew that wouldn't be possible. Instead, she leaned in and nuzzled her cheek against Marina's, resting her head on her friend's shoulder.

Marina closed her eyes, and a tear came down her cheek. Alex rubbed against Marina's face, caressing it away. Then, she leaned back to look into her friend's eyes.

_I'm so glad you're my friend,_ Marina said, trying not to shed anymore tears.

_Me too,_ Alex replied. She leaned in again and pressed their foreheads together, the tips of their noses touching.  _Even when you piss me off._

Marina giggled, returning the gesture and rubbing her nose against Alex's.

_You piss me off more,_ she replied.

_Good,_ said Alex.  _You're cute when you're pissed._

_What?_ Marina replied suddenly, her eyes contorted into a furious glare. 

Alex's eyes widened, and she blinked, temporarily taken aback before realizing what her friend was doing. She closed her eyes and let out a loud, exaggerated moan.

_You're turning me on..._ Alex moaned, breathing heavily and rubbing her crotch against Marina's. Marina blinked and blushed, not expecting her friend to get quite so much into it, but soon she closed her eyes and even reciprocated a bit, letting her friend have her fun. The two girls finally stopped rubbing together, sharing another laugh as they leaned away and looked into each other's eyes.  _Marina, I love you._

Marina knew what Alex meant, knew that it wasn't just an expression of fraternal love but an expression of something deeper. She loved Alex too, it just wasn't in the same way. Still, despite her own lack of attraction toward her friend, she was touched deeply, and leaned her forehead against Alex's again.

_I love you too..._ she muffled quietly, leaning up and pressing her taped lips against Alex's forehead.  _And we're going to get out of this._

Alex was calmed and reassured by Marina's words, and was blushing intensely, feeling warm in every part of her body, especially in the most intimate part. Even in the darkness of the trunk, Marina was a sight to behold, the tape bonds accentuating her sweat-slicked body. Just looking at her was enough to turn Alex on, and she felt another wave of arousal coming over her, clenching her legs tightly together. Marina could see and sense that Alex was aroused again, but she didn't do anything to discourage it. She accepted her friend's feelings unconditionally, while resuming her struggles even if it turned Alex on even more.

_You should probably be struggling too,_ thought Marina, though she didn't vocalize it, wanting to let her friend get the message on her own.  _Although I doubt you'll have better luck than I'm having..._

As Marina began to squirm as best she could inside the trunk, her breasts shaking slightly with her body's movements, Alex was briefly captivated by the display. She moaned again and felt a bit more fluid slicking up the area between her legs, her friend putting on quite the show.

_God, she's fucking hot... wait a minute, she's trying to get free again! Maybe I should too... I might not be able to get the trunk open but if I can get myself free..._

Alex started to test her bonds as well. Her chest bonds held firm, but the bonds encasing her wrists and forearms had a slight amount of give... and that, combined with the sweat from her skin, might just be enough for her to get loose.

_Marina, my arms are coming loose!_ Alex shouted, yelling 'my arms!' again for emphasis. Marina paused her struggles for the moment and looked on as Alex turned her body a bit to gesture to her loosening wrist bonds.

_Alex, wait, turn around a bit more!_

“Hmm?”

Alex couldn't understand Marina's frantic instructions, and Marina groaned in frustration, resisting the urge to mention that the two could understand each other fairly well just a few minutes ago. She instead decided to turn herself around like Alex was doing, so that the two had their backs facing one another and so that Marina could attempt to reach Alex's loosening wrist tape. Before, when the tape was tight on both of their arms, there wasn't any way for them to peel it loose with their hands, but now with the slack Alex had been given, there might be just enough looseness to get it off with Marina's help.

_Keep struggling while I use my hands,_ Marina said, slowly enough for Alex to understand her. Alex nodded and kept at it while Marina groped and reached with her fingers, grabbing the tape and yanking as hard as she could when she got the chance. This helped to loosen the tape from Alex's arms even more, giving Alex more wiggle room to struggle. At the same time, Marina renewed her own struggles, and was able to get her shoulder tape a bit loose, though her wrist and lower chest bonds still held strong. 

The two were mostly silent as they worked on getting Alex's arms free, with only the occasional sound of grunting accompanying the girls' struggles. Occasionally, one of them would yell some encouragement, or Marina would give a direction, but for the most part, there were no attempts at conversation... at least until Alex made a breakthrough.

_YES!_ she shouted at the top of her lungs, yanking one of her wrists completely loose from the tape, while the rest of it hung around her other arm like an enlarged bracelet. Alex moved her arm around and tossed the rest of the tape away, leaving her wrists completely free, though her arms were still pinned to her sides by the tape still wrapped tightly around them.  _Marina, I'm free... sorta!_

Marina smiled and nodded, and gestured for Alex to scoot down as much as she could so that she could help get Alex's arms loose. Alex obliged, and Marina pulled the tape loose enough for Alex to be able to wiggle herself out, though it took a few minutes for her to do so completely inside the tight enclosed space of the trunk. Once Alex had gotten the tape off of her arms and chest, she was totally free... save for the tape that still covered her mouth. She didn't bother to remove that, at least yet. Instead, she began immediately working on freeing Marina's arms from the tape, starting with her tightly wrapped wrists.

_Guess you're the damsel in distress now, huh?_ joked Alex, as she slowly unwound the tape from around Marina's wrists.  _I should take my time._

Marina groaned, barely understanding half of what Alex was saying, but sussing out the rest from the smug expression on her face. She finally availed herself of a chance to flip someone off, extending her middle finger as far as she could as Alex continued to free her wrists.

_Is that any way to treat someone who's saving you?_ asked Alex, though she continued her efforts to free Marina, her joke extending only to her words and not her actions... she genuinely wanted to get both of them free as soon as possible. Marina rolled her eyes, and Alex found herself even more turned on by her sassy friend... something Marina both expected and accepted, even as she continued to put on a bit of a show for her.  _Almost got it..._

Alex finished freeing Marina's wrists, and from there, freeing her arms and chest was a fairly simple matter, with Marina helping to wiggle herself out. Marina's chest was a slight hangup, and Alex had to help peel off the tape that had once been around Marina's shoulders when it started to come down around the rest of her. After that, both girls were free, though the tapegags were another story. Alex reached up and slowly began to peel hers off, while Marina reached up to her own tapegag and closed her eyes.

_This is going to sting like a bitch,_ thought Marina, before yanking the tape off her mouth as hard as she could. “FUCK!”

Marina reached up to her lips, almost sure she would feel that some skin had come off, but thankfully her lips and mouth were intact, and it only  _felt_ like she'd ripped off a layer of skin. Watching and hearing Marina's painful display had made Alex even more reluctant to ungag herself, and she'd only managed to peel off a small corner.

“Alex, it's like a bandaid, the faster you take it off, the less it'll hurt. Trust me.”

Alex winced, but didn't make a move to stop Marina as she reached over and gripped the corner of the tape between her fingers.

“Now hold still, you big baby.”

_Fuck you!_ Alex yelled.

“You wish,” said Marina with a smirk, before yanking off her friend's tapegag as hard as she could. Alex screamed even louder than Marina had, swearing several times before finally calming herself down.

“That thing was _really_ stuck on!” shouted Alex, rubbing her lips and mouth furiously.

“God, it reeks in here,” groaned Marina. “Good thing we can breathe through our mouths now.”

“It doesn't smell so bad,” Alex replied.

“That's because most of it is _your_ smell!”

“And yours turns me on,” said Alex, though she immediately blushed afterward, somewhat embarassed by her own display of candor.

“Whatever,” Marina replied, brushing off Alex's comment and looking up at the trunk lid still over their heads. “We need to get out of here, and now that we're free, we can coordinate a plan.”

“We could try to yank those cables again,” said Alex, grabbing the emergency trunk release cables with her now freed hands. “Wanna help me?”

“I have a better idea,” said Marina. “Maybe if we both kick the trunk at the same time, we can get it open.”

“We've been kicking the trunk for a while though,” said Alex.

“Yeah, but we were tied up and gagged and scared and we couldn't coordinate our kicks. Now we can. We'll try it a few times and then if that doesn't work, we'll yank the cable again. Okay?”

Alex wasn't sure that Marina's plan would work, but she figured it would have a better chance at getting the trunk open than pulling on the release cables would... also, she had a lot of pent up aggression that she wanted to get out, and she also wanted to show that she had complete trust in Marina, since she knew Marina had complete trust in her.

“Okay,” said Alex, smiling to let her friend know she was on board with the plan. “We'll do it your way.”

“Thanks,” replied Marina, smiling back at Alex. “We both kick with both legs on the count of three, got it?”

Alex nodded, and the two girls got on their backs and positioned their legs as well as they could. It was an awkward angle, but the two managed to bend their legs in such a way that they could hit the trunk lid with the soles of their feet. They placed their legs together as close as they could, and Marina began to count.

“One... two... three!”

Alex and Marina slammed their feet into the trunk lid as hard as they could. It didn't budge, and both girls' legs began to ache. They looked at each other.

“Try again?” said Alex.

“Are you sure?” asked Marina.

“I'm ready to try as many times as you say.”

“...okay. We'll keep trying. One... two... three!”

Their soles hit the lid of the trunk again. Nothing. Not even a bulge. The girls looked at each other a second time.

“Again?” said Alex, showing complete confidence in her friend's plan despite the pain coursing through her legs.

“...yeah.”

They tried a third time. This time, there was a slight movement... maybe.

“I think it moved,” said Alex, “but I'm not sure.”

Marina sighed. She didn't want either of them to get hurt. She still had confidence in the plan, but maybe Alex's plan to yank the cables again was the better way to go.

Or maybe they should just stay inside the trunk until their friends or the police came to save them.

“We should try again,” said Alex. “We should keep trying until it opens!”

“Alex, are you sure?”

“I'm not sure it'll work, but I'm sure I want to keep trying.”

“...okay,” said Marina, who felt as if she might cry again. Alex had complete confidence in her plan. It didn't matter if it hadn't been Alex's original plan or if it probably wouldn't work. Marina had suggested it, and Alex wanted to see it through to the end. “One... two... three!”

Nothing.

“One... two... three!”

Nothing.

“One... two... three!”

“...I think it moved a little, maybe.”

Marina sighed, and she could sense that Alex's voice was getting a little bit strained, as if she was in pain.

“Alex, your leg, are you okay?”

“I'm okay, we have to get out of here, remember?”

Marina leaned back into the wall of the trunk and started to laugh... and also started to cry a little bit. Alex immediately looked at her.

“Marina, are you okay?”

“Alex... just a couple minutes ago we were teasing each other and I was flipping you off and you were saying 'fuck you' to me, and now... now you're willing to break your legs against the lid of this trunk just because I suggested it was the best way out of here.”

“Yeah, so?”

“...so... I'm so lucky to have you as a friend,” said Marina, sniffling and wiping a tear from her eye.

Alex was a bit annoyed at Marina's sudden display of emotion, as she'd seen this from her friend before, that lingering guilt from all the bullying that Marina used to do back when the two first met all those years ago. Even now, Marina would still apologize for things she did so long ago, things that Alex figured were just water under the bridge. But that word, 'lucky'.. that truly was how Marina felt. Not just with Alex, but with Stacy too. Lucky that even though she'd said and done terrible things to them, it hadn't been enough to cost her a chance at the two best friendships she ever had.

_And I'm lucky too,_ thought Alex, reaching over and pulling Marina close, embracing her with one hand while holding the other.  _Lucky I gave her a second chance... and grateful she deserved it._

“Alex?”

“Marina... let's try one more time,” said Alex, tightening her grip on Marina's hand and pulling her even closer, while giving her a warm smile. Marina nodded.

“On the count of three. One... two... three!”

Their feet hit the trunk lid, they heard something snap, and the trunk flew open, exposing the girls to the fresh evening air and the sight of the white canopy over their heads. The two young women were laying in the open trunk of a Bentley in their underwear and in each other's arms, and stared up at that canopy in disbelief before looking into each other's eyes with surprise and joy on their faces. Then, both of them started to laugh. They were exhilarated, and exhausted, and so happy to finally be completely free. They laid there in that open trunk, stretching their sore legs and holding each other tightly and enjoying the coolness of the breeze, not caring that they were almost completely naked in a parking lot for anyone who came by to see.

But at the moment, there was no one to see.

And as Marina continued to laugh quietly in Alex's arms, a few more tears streaming down her face, Alex felt an overwhelming urge come to her, something she'd wanted to do since the very moment she met Marina, but something she was at first too angry with her to do, and later too worried to do, all the while knowing that Marina didn't feel the same way. But as joy overtook Alex, she couldn't help herself. She leaned in....

And she stopped.

Her lips were just an inch from Marina's, and she stopped.

She couldn't kiss Marina... not unless Marina said it was okay.

“Can... I.....?”

Marina looked deep into Alex's eyes, and it was her who seized the moment. She leaned in the rest of the way and pressed her lips fiercely against her best friend's, and as Alex began pushing back, Marina's lips parted and she slid her tongue deeply, passionately into Alex's mouth, moaning with pleasure and not caring if she still wasn't nearly as attracted to Alex as Alex was to her.

In that moment, it didn't matter. She loved Alex, and Alex wanted to kiss her, and in that moment, Marina wanted to kiss her too.

They embraced, fully, lips still engulfing each other's, tongues fighting fiercely, bodies pressed together, still soaked with sweat. Alex came a second time, almost as intensely as the first, while Marina moaned and let a slow trickle escape her warm sex into the folds of her soft, damp, lacy panties. Alex's lips parted from Marina's just long enough to tell her how much she loved her, then pressed back into them, not giving Marina a chance to reply or not to reply.

Alex knew that Marina didn't reciprocate her feelings, and she didn't care. All she cared about was that Marina loved her. It didn't have to be romantic love. Alex didn't even know if she wanted it to be. She had enough love for both of them, and more than enough lust. The two continued to embrace and caress each other inside the open trunk. Alex thought about reaching back to remove Marina's bra, but decided against it, decided to let Marina make that move if she wanted it, and if she didn't, this was enough.

This was more than enough.

_I'm just glad to be alive..._ thought Alex, as she and Marina continued to kiss and hold each other tightly.  _And even more glad that Marina's alive._

_Alex... I don't know what it is I'm feeling right now, but I know I love you and I know I'd do anything for you. If those guys come back, I'm not letting them tie us up again. I'm not letting anyone hurt you again._

The two were lost in love and lust and ecstasy, and remained so until they heard a voice cut through the darkness.

“Alex? Marina?”

The voice belonged to Stacy, and as the two girls looked up from the trunk, they could see all their friends... Stacy, Elissa, Vivian, Kirsten, all of them running toward them... and looking both relieved and bewildered, wondering what could possibly have happened but none of them willing to ask for the details at the moment.

“It's... it's not even _remotely_ what it looks like...” stammered Marina, though she made no effort to part from anything but the kiss, and did that rather slowly.

“Are you guys okay?” Stacy asked, still confused but also extremely concerned, and putting two and two together enough to realize that her two best friends were probably only making out with each other because they'd been through an intense ordeal. “Are you hurt?”

“Not really....” said Alex, though her lips did still sting from the tape. She and Marina finally broke off their embrace, though she hoped her friends wouldn't notice what else had transpired inside that trunk.

“Wait, did they catch the guys who kidnapped us?” asked Marina, now curious to know about everything: the competition, the guys who kidnapped them, the person who'd hired them...

“Yeah, they did,” said Elissa. “It was crazy!”

“I think we should start from the beginning,” said Kirsten. “Alex and Marina have obviously been through a lot.”

“Ya think?” Marina said, raising her eyebrow before sighing. “Ugh, sorry... it's just...”

“We're both pretty shaken up,” said Alex, putting her arm around Marina's shoulder, though she was also blushing intensely at her friends seeing her like this. “But yeah, what happened?”

“After you two didn't show, we immediately knew something was up,” said Vivian. “The competition organizer said that you two were seen driving away, but we didn't buy that for a second.”

“Eventually, we learned that someone had kidnapped you guys, and that the Windrunners' manager was responsible,” said Stacy.

“Wait, WHAT?” Marina shouted. “The manager of the #2 team in the competition? Ugh... guess it should've been obvious.”

“The Windrunners themselves had nothing to do with it,” said Elissa. “Apparently, their manager owes a ton of money to the mob, and he was super desperate. After the cops started grilling him, he fingered the two goons he hired and told us where they stashed you guys. But... it looks like you guys got free first, huh?”

“Yeah... guess we didn't need to though,” said Marina, rubbing some of the feeling back into her sore legs.

“No... I'm glad you got us out,” Alex replied, smiling at Marina. “It feels good to save ourselves, even if I'm glad you guys showed up too.”

“I'm really glad you two are okay,” said Stacy, whose eyes were slightly puffy, indicating that she'd been crying. She leaned in to hug her two friends, wrapping her arms tightly around both of them without hesitation despite the sweat still covering their bodies. She did sniff the air and wrinkle her nose a bit, but the smile never left her face.

“Sorry we stink,” said Alex.

“ _We_?” said Marina indignantly.

Stacy just giggled, continuing to hug Alex and Marina as they returned the embrace, with Alex clinging to her especially tightly.

“Thanks for coming for us,” said Alex softly, before looking up at the other girls. “All of you... thanks.”

“Yeah,” said Marina, smiling a grateful smile. “I knew we could count on you guys... I was still worried, though.”

“Well, Vivian had to help pin one of those jerks against the wall,” said Kirsten. “You guys should've seen Stacy, she was scary pissed!”

“Yeah, she was all 'WHERE ARE MY FRIENDS, YOU SON OF A BITCH?'” Elissa said, as Stacy blushed intensely.

“I didn't yell _that_ loud...”

As the six friends continued to converse, the subject briefly drifted to the competition. The organizers had wanted to disqualify the Windrunners, but the four Thrillseekers had urged them not to, and the organizers decided to postpone the competition pending a decision from the two kidnapping victims, Alex and Marina.

“Guess we can let them know that we want the competition to continue... right, Marina?” said Alex, looking over to her friend. “I mean, it's up to you, I'm okay with it if you are.”

“Mmm... guess it wasn't the Windrunners' fault that their manager's an asshole,” replied Marina. “I guess we can agree to let the competition go on, but maybe we should let them stew for a few more hours before we make our final decision, hmm?”

Alex smirked and sighed, loving to see Marina's vindictive side come out every once in a while. The six friends kept talking, and Alex was grateful to have all of them close by... but she also felt that she still had some things to discuss with Marina.

“Guys, could you um... give me and Marina some privacy?” asked Alex.

“Sure thing,” said Elissa.

“Yeah, we know you guys have been through a lot,” said Stacy. “Take all the time you need... we'll be right inside waiting.”

The other four girls left after giving Alex and Marina one last hug, leaving the two girls standing alone by the car that had, for several hours, been their prison. Alex looked at Marina, who still looked so beautiful in the moonlight, while Marina made no effort to hide any part of her body from her best friend.

“Look, Marina... about what happened... I just... I want you to know it's okay if you don't feel the same way about me that I do about you.”

“Alex, the thing is... I'm not sure how I feel.”

“That's okay too.”

“I meant what I said when I said I love you, but... ugh... it's so complicated. I mean, seriously, it's really fucking complicated. You're attractive, but I'm not attracted to you... I don't think. But when I was in that trunk with you, I was kind of turned on, you know? Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the bondage, maybe it was the smell... god, I hope it wasn't the smell.”

Alex giggled and scooted closer to Marina, lifting up her armpit and pressing it right up against her friend's face.

“You know you love it,” said Alex.

“You are fucking impossible, you know that?” shouted Marina, pushing Alex away but not with all of her might. “Ugh, we both are gonna need a shower after this!”

Alex blushed intensely at the thought of showing with Marina, and turned away to try and hide it, while Marina sighed, smiled, gently placed her hand on Alex's cheek and turned her face toward her.

“Marina, listen... you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met. Even when I first met you, I was attracted to you. Even when I hated your guts, I thought you were super cute. Then we became friends, and then... somewhere along the way, I fell in love. Even though I knew you didn't like girls, I knew I didn't like you. But no matter what, you're my best friend and you always will be, and... I'm so glad to know you. I love you, Marina.”

Marina could feel more tears sliding down her face, and as Alex poured out her feelings, Marina pulled her close, into a tight hug.

“I love you too, Alex. You know I do. And listen... even if I don't love you the same way you love me, you will always have me. I'll always be here.”

Marina released Alex from the embrace, smiling and stroking her friend's hair.

“Besides... I know it's complicated for you too, right?”

Alex nodded, knowing exactly what Marina meant.

“Why was it so easy to confess to me but not to Stacy?” Marina asked. “You feel the same way about her that you do about me. Maybe stronger.”

Alex nodded again, sighing and smiling.

“Is it because... you've seen me at my worst, but you've only seen Stacy at her best?”

“Me and Stacy have fought before.”

“Not like you and I have. Trust me, I still remember you giving me a bloody lip on the beach.”

“Yeah, and you gave me a bloody nose!”

“And I would've won that fight if that chaperone hadn't shown up.”

The two girls laughed, remembering that fight from when they were in middle school, a memory that Marina could laugh at even while having lingering guilt about how the fight had started.

“The reason you haven't seen Stacy at her worst is because she doesn't have a worst,” said Marina. “She's a better person than me and you know it.”

“Marina-”

“And you should tell her how you feel.”

Alex sighed again. She knew Marina was right, but she was so scared to tell Stacy how she felt, not knowing if Stacy felt the same way... after all, if Stacy didn't like girls, and Marina didn't like girls, was there any other girl that Alex had a chance with?

“Does Stacy even like girls?” asked Alex. “I mean, seriously, does she?”

“Alex, you know that even if she did and I knew, I wouldn't out her. I wouldn't tell her about you, either. You need to tell her, and then she can tell you if she feels the same way.”

“I know, I'm just... not ready,” said Alex, as Marina embraced her again.

“Someday you will be,” Marina replied. “And until then, I'm right here.”

Alex smiled at Marina, and Marina smiled back, and the two shared another warm, tender embrace, without the kissing this time. Alex loved Marina, and Marina loved her back, and that was all that mattered right now.

“I love you so much...” Alex said, caressing Marina's back tenderly.

“And I love you too. And maybe someday... maybe someday there's a chance I might feel the same way about you that you feel about me. Until then, we're best friends forever and that will never, EVER change. Not _just_ friends, _best_ friends.”

And Alex was just fine with that.

But... she couldn't resist wanting just a little bit more.

“Best friends... with benefits?” said Alex, only half-joking.

“...we'll see,” replied Marina, giving her best friend a quick kiss on the lips.

_I like those odds,_ thought Alex, her lips tingling.


End file.
